Syracuse at #18 North Carolina
Don’t look now but the North Carolina Tar Heels might be the team to watch in the ACC, particularly in the Coastal Division. Last year Mack Brown’s return to campus was a big success, as North Carolina finished with a 9-4 record – 6-2 in the conference – and their first bowl game since 2016. Ten starters return on offense and seven on defense, including nearly their entire back seven.
On offense, Sam Howell is the poster boy. The true freshman set a school record with 38 touchdown passes a season ago, and was second in the conference to Trevor Lawrence in both passing yards (3,641) and quarterback rating (160.3). He’ll enjoy having the trio of Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome and Beau Corrales back to throw to, as well as four returning offensive linemen to the starting lineup. Michael Carter and Javonte Williams are two talented backs who combined for 1,936 rushing yards a season ago.
On the defensive side of the football, the player who might be one of the most intriguing in all of college football is Chazz Surratt. When you look at his bio on the UNC football home page you’ll see him taking a shotgun snap. That is not a mistake. Back in 2017 he made seven starts at quarterback and led the team with 1,342 passing yards. But after appearing in just one game as a sophomore in 2018, he moved to linebacker for the 2019 campaign, and he flourished. He was a first-team All-ACC selection and was runner-up for conference defensive player of the year. He was tops on the team and second in the ACC with 115 tackles. Surratt was named to the Nagurski, Butkus and Bednarik Watch Lists for the year ahead.
He is not the only linebacker returning, as Tomon Fox and Jeremiah Gemmel also return to the starting lineup from the prior season. In the secondary, four of the five starters return including Storm Duck at cornerback, who is worth mentioning for his name alone.
For Syracuse, the Orange had high expectations heading into 2019 after a 10-3 finish back in 2018. But those expectations failed to materialize and the Orange limped to a 5-7 finish. If they can improve offensively they could return to the promise offered a few years ago.
That improvement starts with quarterback Tommy DeVito. The junior passer was sacked early and often in 2019, and the offense needs to do a much better job of protecting him. When he has time, DeVito can be effective, but this odd statistic speaks to what he faced in 2019. Last year he became one of just two quarterbacks in the past decade to complete 63% of his passes, generate 20 or more scoring plays, turn the ball over eight times or less, and get sacked at least 35 times. (Stay tuned for the name of the other QB to set this odd mark).
The Orange are deep at running back, as Abdul Adams returns for another year at RB and will be spelled by freshma Jawhar Jordan. Seniors Aaron Hackett and Chris Elmore are reliable options at tight end. Taj Harris is the player to watch at wide receiver, as he was Syracuse’s second-leading WR a year ago.
On defense, there will be lots of new faces, including at defensive coordinator. The team hired Tony White as the new defensive coordinator, and he will be installing a 3-3-5 system that he was part of running at Arizona State. Four starters return including cornerbacks Trill Williams and Ifeatu Melifonwu.
The other passer to meet that odd set of criteria? Baker Mayfield.
Matchup to watch: For me, the matchup I want to watch most is how Howell handles the 3-3-5 defense he will see from White.
Draft prospects to watch: It is unlikely that DeVito looks to make the jump to the NFL afte this season, but he is worth studying for perhaps the 2022 NFL Draft. Syracuse safety Andre Cisco is also a playmaker in the back end, and he is currently the FBS active leader in interceptions. For North Carolina, Surratt is a darkhorse first-rounder, and Howell might be…someday.
Scheme notes: Something that the Tar Heels do well offensively is pair aggressive vertical concepts with play-action or RPO designs up front. On this touchdown Howell shows the Mercer defense a potential running play, meshing with his running back, but pulls to work a downfield scissors concept. He throws the deep post over the middle against man coverage for the score:
